


conspiracy theorist

by sebsterianart



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: I'll add more tags as i go, Multi, cryptid hunters au, this has probably been done already but oh well
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-11-14 11:55:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11207574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebsterianart/pseuds/sebsterianart
Summary: lance is just a Small Town Boy workin at a Small Town diner when suddenly, a mysterious stranger in search of cryptids suddenly appearswho is this mulleted man ?The Answer Will Shock You





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> yoo its 11:45AM and i havent slept so theres probably a lot of mistakes in this but w/e

A loud beeping filled Lance's ears as he turned to his side, blocking the noise with the fluff of his pillow before groaning and throwing it towards the villainous clock.

  
The boy stretched his arms high above his head, sinking down into his soft blankets to soak up every bit of warmth left from his sleep.

  
Usually, on days like this, he'd still be fast asleep, cozy and undisturbed.

  
But today wasn't one of those days; and unless he wanted to become homeless, he needed to get his ass to work.

  
Didn't mean he couldn't complain about it as he did, though.

  
He groaned as he shuffled towards the kitchen, rubbing his eyes blearily and ignoring his roommate's comment about his state of dress.

  
"-Lance, are you listening to me?"

  
Lance turned towards the voice, downing a carton of milk as the other sighed.

  
"At this rate I'm just going to have to buy two things of milk; one for you, and one uncontaminated with your morning breath." His roommate, Hunk, brought a hand to his face, exasperated as he stood from his seat to steal the drink out of Lance's hands, locking eyes with him as he put the cap back on.

  
"Hunk, I don't have time for this-" Lance reached for his breakfast, earning a large distancing hand on his forehead.

  
"You know, you would have time if you actually set your alarm for when it's supposed to be instead of sleeping in every day."

  
The male huffed, crossing his arms. "Perfection means needing beauty sleep, I can't help that!"

  
Hunk rolled his eyes, letting go of Lance's forehead and making a glass for him, earning him a cheer as Lance took it then went off to get dressed.

  
"Thanks, buddy! You're the best!" He called after, downing the drink quickly as he stuffed his lanky legs into his pants, checking the time worriedly while slipping on his shirt and shoving his feet into his shoes before dashing off.

  
Hunk raised an eyebrow as Lance suddenly skidded to a halt near the door, hand on the knob.

  
"Wait a second,,,,Hunk, what are you still doing here?"

  
"What?" The larger male squinted with confusion before lightening up. "Oh! Shay said she'd cover for me today, since I haven't had a break in a while." He rubbed the back of his neck, gaze drifting off fondly as he spoke. "I tried to turn her down, but she insisted."

  
Lance's face stretched into a grin. "Oooh,,Hunk, you sly dog, getting your girlfriend to cover your shift; it's brilliant!" He quickly pulled the door open and slid through it, ignoring his roommate's flustered stutter as he leaped down the steps leading to the driveway and got into his car, cursing as it wouldn't start.

  
"Come on, Blue,,,,don't give up on me now."

  
The car in question, Blue, was a sleek Lamborghini Veneno; topped with a glossy blue coating that sparkled in the sun and caught your eye no matter what you thought about cars.

  
,,,,Okay, that was a lie; Blue was an old beat up Chevrolet Bel Air, famous for never starting when you needed her to, and she'd been passed down his family since waayy before he was born. His tatarabuelo had it, his bisabuelo had it, his plain abuelo had it, his papá had it; and now he had it.

  
And his kids would have it, too, much to their complaint.

  
He chewed on his lip anxiously, not wanting to have to face one of Hunk's famous 'I told you so's if she didn't start.

  
Though, as always, after just one more turn of the ignition; she pulled through, the engine sputtering before purring to life.

  
"Alright! Atta Girl!" Lance pumped his fist before patting the dashboard, finally starting on his way to work.

  
He desperately wished for some music as he sat bored at red lights and minor traffic. But if he started a song now, he wouldn't be able to leave his car till it was over; cause that was just law, and he was already late enough as is. So he stuck to drumming his fingers and humming, only stopping when he had to pull into a parking space and rush inside the diner for his shift.

  
"Hey! Allura-!

  
A woman behind a counter froze before turning towards the shouting man, crossing her arms over her chest and popping a hip.

  
"You're late." 

  
"Yeah, I know," Lance wheezed, bending over with hands on his knees to catch his breath.

  
She sighed at the reply, talking to another employee before stepping out from behind her workspace. "You can't keep doing this, Lance."

  
He stood up fully, awkwardly nodding his head in understanding. "Yeah, I know,,"

  
Allura continued staring him down before sighing once more, making Lance swear he could make her disapproval into a drinking game.  ** _'Take a shot for every time Allura sighs at you!'_**

  
But, now wasn't the time and besides; he wasn't really ready to leave his life behind from alcohol poisoning.

  
So instead he fake-saluted at her as she gave him orders and went on with his job as usual, putting on his best customer-service face as he calmly strode over to a table to ask them how their meal was going.

  
To be honest; he really didn't have any excuses for being late, his job really wasn't that bad. Or at least, it sure beat working at an off-brand McDonald's, which Lance still had nightmares about. The customers there had been awful, and he'd almost been homeless from the low pay.

  
He shuddered while thinking about it before shaking his head, focusing on serving the rest of the food to a table of four, and the rest of the day went on the same.

  
It was only when he was nearing the end of his shift did anything interesting happen, Lance peeking his head up from it's place on the counter curiously as the door opened. They only had one other person in the building, which was an old woman named Clarice, who always stayed behind.

  
He stood up straight as the stranger removed what looked like part of a ninja mask from the lower half of his face, shaking his wind blown hair and looking around before taking a seat.

  
Lance blinked, with both surprise, and salt.

  
Who did this guy think he was, pulling in five minutes before Lance would be home free?

  
The boy narrowed his eyes before going over to the table, a hand on his hip as he looked over the spread the customer had laid out on it.

  
It looked to be some nerdy fiction stuff meant for 12-year olds, and definitely not meant for a 20-something dude with a mullet. But, Lance pulled on, eyebrows raised as he crossed his arms.

  
"Can I help you?"

  
The stranger looked up from his book, seeming to take a moment to process what was happening.

  
"Uh, no,,?"

  
Lance scrunched his face in confusion before looking away from him as Clarice finished the last of her pie, leaving the money on the table and leaving the establishment. "Look, dude; I should be home right now, chillin' in the bath with a facemask on. But instead? You're here."

  
The man's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't see how that's my fault."

  
Lance's eye twitched before he sighed, pulling out a small notepad. "Whatever, just give me your order."

  
He looked away from Lance to the menu buried under his books, pulling it out from under them and looking over it before choosing something random, Lance writing it down on the pad before going into the back and and taking out a chocolate chip cookie from that morning, walking back to the table and setting the plate over the books scattered around.

  
The stranger didn't bother looking up from his book again, murmuring a 'thanks' and scooting the plate over to himself, but not actually eating it.

  
Lance waited around for another moment before giving up, taking a seat on the other side of the booth and beginning to shuffle through the many items on the tabletop, selecting a random book and reading the title aloud.

  
"'List of known cryptids'?"

  
The man looked up quickly at that, snatching the book from Lance's hands before he could continue. "Don't touch that."

  
Lance's hands shot up defensively. "Alright, alright! Chill out buddy."

  
The man gathered his books and stuffed them into a bag hanging over the right side of his body, standing up and beginning to leave.

  
Lance stared before looking down at the uneaten cookie left behind, furrowing his eyebrows as he stood from his seat to chase after him.

  
"Hey! You never paid !"

  
The man didn't listen, though; the sound of his motorcycle blocking the sound of Lance's voice as it revved up and prepared for take-off.

  
Lance clenched his hands into fists as he watched him drive off.

  
Knowing that chasing him at this point would be useless; he took in a breath and turned on his heel, only to be caught off guard by a sudden slipperiness to the road.

  
He crouched down curiously, picking up the book that'd fallen from the man's bag and reading the title.

_  
'Aliens among us'_

  
Just who was this guy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is super short cause its just the intro rip but ive been wanting to write this for a Long Time so. here it is
> 
> anyways tho if u liked this and want more or smth be sure 2 hmu w/ some of that Sweet Sweet Validation(tm)
> 
> here's m'tumblr: http://sebsterianart.tumblr.com/
> 
> Stay Radical Folks


	2. Chapter 2

Lance drummed his fingers against the counter one at a time, cheek in his palm as he looked over the filled tables of the diner.

  
"Hunk,,tell me something,"

  
His best friend/roommate turned to him curiously, raising an eyebrow as he set a plate in front of Lance.

  
"....do you believe in aliens?"

  
Hunk blinked before humming, lifting a hand to his chin as his gaze drifted in thought. "Well, I mean, it depends on what you mean by that. But,,I can't really disprove anything," He paused for a moment to look back at Lance. "Why do you ask?"

  
Lance stopped tapping his fingers and crouched down, pulling out the lost book from the counter's shelves and holding it up.

  
"Some weirdo came in last night and left this behind. He had a ton other like it, too." He waved it around some before huffing. "And he never paid for his food, either."

  
Hunk's eyebrows furrowed. "Lance, that's like, illegal-"

  
"I know!" Lance interjected, practically fuming. "He hopped away on his motorcycle before I could do anything!"

  
Hunk frowned, gently putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Calm down, Lance." He looked around for stares before sighing, turning away and holding up freshly prepared plates. "Give these to table five."

  
Lance pouted some at the rejection, but obliged. It was his job, after all. And he needed to do it no matter what kind of greasy creeps dropped in.

  
He set the plates down with a quick 'enjoy' before turning away, going back over to the counter with a started conversation, but there was no one there.

  
He sighed at that, slumping. He could appreciate working alongside his best bud- but it really could get in the way sometimes.

  
Lance tapped his nails against the smooth surface before stopping in his tracks, looking down at the book left in front of him.

  
Curiously, he picked it back up, looking over the cover before turning the first page.

  
As he thought; it was a bunch of nonsense. Random people claiming to see random things that had no sources, blurry photos that were obviously faked, and a bunch of stories of 'abductions'.

  
He scoffed under his breath, turning the next page, though a clearing of a throat brought him out of his daze.

  
Allura towered over him- even though she was shorter, with an unamused expression across her face.

  
"Lance."

  
The boy quickly shut the book, pausing before putting on a smooth grin. "What's up, princess?"

  
The woman sighed, ignoring the nickname and bringing a hand up to rub at her face. "Table three's been waiting on their food for over thirty minutes now. What's going on here?"

  
Lance's expression drooped into one of guilt as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, I guess I might've,,held Hunk up a little,,"

  
Allura raised an eyebrow.

  
"Okay,,maybe more than a little- but you can't blame me! Look at this."

  
He shoved the book into her face, Allura blinking before taking it from his hands, confused as she read the cover.

  
"Some creepozoid dropped this the other night while ditching the paycheck for his dinner."

  
Allura had to take a moment to decipher the boy's slang, but was just as terrifying with a delayed reaction.

  
"Lance," She handed the book back to him, staring him in the eye. "If you see that man, come get me immediately."

  
Lance nodded, saluting. "Yes ma'am."

  
She smiled. "Good. Now get back to work."

  
The boy watched as she walked away, putting the book down and picking up a plate instead. He'd just have to give it a read later.

  
But for now, he'd have to do his job. Because while Allura was gorgeous, she was also his boss and kinda terrifying when she got really mad. Just a little.

  
The day went on as usual, which Lance was thankful for. Because right as Clarice checked in and ordered her usual slice of apple pie; Lance knew he was set for at least a solid hour of time to read before he'd have to close up.

  
He slinked over to his station and plopped down on one of the stools surrounding the area, crossing one leg over the other as he picked up from where he left off.

  
This time, the book was talking about how aliens were marked in history. Ancient art pieces and whatever.

  
Lance raised a brow, but continued, only stopping when the door opened.

  
He froze in place, eyes on the ground as he gathered the strength to raise them.

  
Speak of the devil; he was met with violet eyes and hair that'd obviously never met conditioner.

  
They held each other's gaze awkwardly before the stranger from yesterday gestured down towards the paperback in Lance's hands.

  
"Can I have that back?"

  
Lance's slow reaction would've been embarrassing if not for the fact his repressed salt from earlier rose to the top of his emotions, the boy standing from his seat and setting the book down in his place.

  
"It's you!"

  
The man's face scrunched.

  
"The guy from yesterday! You never paid for your food-!"

  
He lightened up at that, blinking. "Oh,"

  
Lance crossed his arms, lips pursed tight.

  
The man dug around in a fanny pack, which made Lance grimace, but he decided to let it slide when the hand returned with a five-dollar bill.

  
"Is this enough?"

  
Lance stared down at the money, taking a moment to contemplate before taking it.

  
The cookies there were actually only a dollar, but, whatever; this guy had caused him enough trouble.

  
He went behind the counter and added the payment to the cash register before sighing.

  
"You're lucky my boss isn't around, she'd kick your ass."

  
The man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, ignoring Lance's comment as he grabbed his book. "Anyways,,,I only came back for this, so"

  
Lance looked up at him, eyebrows furrowing together as he left the counter. "No way, dude; you can't just leave me hanging like this."

  
When he saw the man's confused expression, he knew he had to elaborate.

  
"You know, all,,,,this," Lance gestured vaguely at the man, hanging at his awkward apparel and book.

  
He furrowed his brows, getting into a defensive stance. "This is just- me, I don't know."

  
Lance shot him a look, hand on his hip. "C'mon, dude; there's got to be more to it than that."

  
The man went silent, looking around the empty diner before sighing, caving in defeat.  
  
  
"Okay,,fine, I'll tell you. But you have to keep quiet about it." He held out his hand.

  
"Deal?"

  
Lance grinned, immediately shaking at the offer. "Deal."

  
He took a breath in, removing his bag from his shoulder.

  
"Alright,," He unzipped the bag and started laying out his books and other papers on the counter in front of him, blocking any outside view with his back.

  
"You can't make fun of me for this,"

  
Lance snorted. "No promises, buddy."

  
"My name's Keith." He retorted, looking up at Lance before going back to organizing his mess.

  
"Lance."

  
Keith didn't reply, instead focusing on flipping through his books, stepping back once he was finished.

  
"Okay,,so,," The male sat down on one of the stools, Lance resting his elbows on the other side of the shared space.

  
"I haven't been here very long, so I don't know much about this place."

  
Lance opened his mouth to reply with his knowledge about the area, but Keith cut him off.

  
"But,,there's a lot of weird things that have happened here."

  
The other hummed before shrugging lightly. "Not **_that_** weird."

  
" ** _That_** weird." Keith stared up at him. The serious look plastered onto his face made Lance go quiet.

  
"Anyways,,,so I've been doing some research."

  
He shoved some of the papers towards Lance, and a book open to a certain page. There were notes written inside.

  
Lance skimmed over them quickly, getting closer to them before picking them up.

  
"Wait, is this real?" He pointed to an old newspaper clipping, announcing a couple disappearances of teenagers.

  
"Why wouldn't it be?"

  
Lance raised a brow.

  
Keith sighed. "Okay, I guess this doesn't make sense to you,,"

  
"No, no; keep going." The boy returned the papers, waiting for Keith to start speaking again.

  
"Alright,,uhm, well, I linked the disappearances to another thing,,"

  
Keith paused, shuffling through his bag and taking out a few papers before handing one over to Lance.

  
"'Mysterious symbols found in abandoned cabin'?" Lance read the title aloud suspiciously. "Dude, this sounds like something straight out of a horror movie. Are you sure you're not just messing with me?"

  
"Yes! Now shut up and listen,"

  
Keith scanned the counter before picking up his recently-returned book, flipping to a certain page and holding the papers up together.

  
"Look familiar?"

  
Lance squinted slightly at the images, the image from the news article making out the shapes of the other picture.

  
He frowned. "Dude, where are you going with this?"

  
Keith inhaled, gathering himself before answering.

  
"I think,,,,it might've been aliens."

  
Lance went silent.

  
He dug his nails into his palms anxiously, looking up at Lance for some sort of read before he burst into laughter, making Keith frown.

  
"I'm being serious."

  
"Aliens?? For real ? C'mon, dude ! I knew you were obsessed but I didn't think you were **_this_** obsessed!" He attempted to catch his breath, a low chuckling still ringing beneath it as he shook his head, digging into his pocket and taking out a set of keys. "I gotta lock up now."

  
Keith followed Lance with his eyes as the male prepared to close, quietly gathering his things back up and standing from his seat.

  
"If you won't believe me; fine, I don't care."

  
He paused, tearing off a piece of paper and shuffling in his bag for a pen, quickly writing something down before handing it over to Lance.

  
"But if you decide to, call me."

  
Lance went to reply, but Keith was already out the door, readying his motorcycle.

  
He looked at the number curiously before stuffing it into his pocket, shutting the doors to the diner and locking them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaa yea stuff's Happening this time round
> 
> if u liked this be sure to express it bc im extremely Self Conscious(tm)
> 
> also sorry for any typos or anything btw ive been. Not Doing Too Good so feel free to point out anything that's awkward
> 
>  
> 
> as Always here's my Shitposting Station: http://sebsterianart.tumblr.com/
> 
> see u l8er alligators
> 
>  
> 
> edit; ao3 pls fix ur website so i can have a good sign off 4 once im Suffering


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its 7AM and i havent slept so im probably gonna change some wording in this later tbh so take this w/ a grain of salt

Lance stared at the piece of paper in his hands, holding it above his head as he lay in bed.

  
That Keith guy had really been a fruitcake with all his 'aliens' stuff, but, he couldn't stop thinking about him for some reason.

  
He sighed, putting the paper down and rolling onto his side.

  
The whole situation gave him a weird vibe. Even if the story had been fake, those disappearances hadn't looked like it.

  
His foot twitched as he shook his leg before he shot out of bed, stuffing the number into his pocket and walking out of his room.

  
"Morning!" Hunk called from the stove, flipping a stuffed omelet.

  
"Morning." Lance stretched his arms, taking a seat at the table and resting his face in his hands.

  
Hunk hummed as he topped the breakfast with some pepper before perking up. "Oh, yeah! I'm not going to be here today, if that's okay. Shay invited me over to watch some movies." He shook his head, putting the egg onto a plate. "Can you believe she's never seen a single Disney film?"

  
"That's pretty weird, buddy." Lance stared at the wood grain of the table in a daze, running his fingers over the tiny cracks.

  
His roommate paused, turning around to look at him with furrowed brows. "Okay, what's up with you? You didn't make a single 'Netflix and chill' joke."

  
Lance crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair. "I can't stop thinking about that guy."

  
"The one that never paid?"

  
"He came back and gave me the money yesterday." The boy replied, bringing his face down to look at him.

  
"But,, I dunno, Hunk. I asked him what his deal was and he said a bunch of stuff that was kinda weird."

  
Hunk raised a brow, setting down the omelet in front of lance and taking a seat beside him. "But I thought the guy  ** _is_**  weird. Isn't that like, the point?"

  
Lance shook his head. "He said there's something weird going on and showed me this super old newspaper. Apparently some people disappeared out of the blue and were never found. They couldn't even find their bodies."

  
Hunk hummed. "Well, I mean, that happens sometimes, Lance. It's sad, but,,"

  
"He thinks it was aliens." Lance interjected. "He showed me these markings from the article that looked a lot like 'alien symbols' or whatever, and he really thinks it was that. And there's something about what he showed me that just,,bothers me, I can't explain it." He paused before digging into his pocket, holding up the scrap piece of paper that plagued his mind. "He even gave me his number."

  
His roommate stayed quiet for a while before taking in a deep breath, standing from his chair with a defeated expression. "I don't know what else to say,, you'll just have to figure it out yourself."

  
Lance sunk in his seat at the reply, but knew when to appreciate even a little help. "Thanks for trying anyway, buddy."

  
Hunk nodded, taking out a dish from the fridge and shutting the door with his hip. "Anytime, Lance,," He looked at the clock before turning back to him. "I gotta go now, okay?"

  
Lance couldn't say it didn't hurt a little; but, he understood. Him and Shay had a whole thing planned, and he didn't want to ruin that for them with his feelings he couldn't even explain.

  
He waved to him as he left, leaning against the couch after and staring out the window; though all he could see were those symbols clouding his brain.

  
Lance chewed on his lip, taking his phone from his pocket and staring down at the screen.

  
It was just a phonecall. It wouldn't hurt, right?

  
He entered the number quickly, hesitating a moment before pressing enter and holding it up to his ear.

  
The phone rang twice before someone picked up; the voice muffled.

  
"Hello?" 

  
The voice was tired and groggy, but it definitely belonged to Keith.

  
Lance skipped the introduction and went straight into it.

  
"Okay, dude; I'm not saying that you're right about the aliens thing. Cause you're not, aliens don't exist." He paused, gathering his thoughts.

  
Keith was silent for a bit before replying in a confused voice.

  
",,,Okay? Why'd you call me?"

  
Lance hesitated. "I,,dunno, I can't stop thinking about what you said."

  
There was a slight shuffling on the line, which Lance took as Keith sitting up on his bed.

  
"So,,you don't believe me, but you want to know more?"

  
Lance contemplated before nodding, but quickly replied verbally once he remembered it was only a phone call.

  
Keith went silent again for a moment, seeming to think things over.

  
",,Come over; I'll text you the address."

  
He sighed, thankful that he might be able to sleep at night again. "Okay."

  
Keith hung up, sending the address to his house before seemingly vanishing, deciding to ignore Lance's text after. Which Lance didn't appreciate but, whatever; he'd take what he could get.

  
He shoved his phone back into his pocket, hastily throwing off his robe and getting dressed before leaving the house, revving up Blue and trying to locate his destination.

  
It took him a couple of tries; but he finally found it, parking next to Keith's infamous red motorcycle.

  
He reached for the handle to the door, but paused, taking a few moments to ask himself whether or not this was a good idea.

  
All signs pointed to no.

  
But, it didn't matter; he was too curious, and that feeling he had wouldn't go away.

  
He took his keys from the ignition before walking up to the door, giving a couple of knocks.

  
Keith opened it, staring up at him before moving out of the way.

  
Lance entered suspiciously, looking around the place. It was kind of small; but not to the point of feeling cramped, which Lance could appreciate.

He stuck his hands into his pockets, looking over as Keith shut the door. From what Lance could tell; he hadn't brushed his hair, and apparently wasn't a fan of ironing his clothes. But, it was better than nothing so he couldn't complain. Plus, he was the one who interrupted Keith's morning.

  
His thought took a pause as Keith turned back to him, looking him over before starting to walk. "Follow me."

  
Lance obliged, taking in more of the house as they went.

  
It was pretty settled into; which was weird, considering Keith had said he hadn't been there long.

  
But, Lance ignored it, following Keith into a dimly lit room with a squint.

  
Keith flipped the lights on, revealing a disorganized mess.

  
Or, at least Lance thought it was a mess. Keith seemed to be fine with it though, walking through and opening a drawer.

  
Lance stood around awkwardly before deciding to sit on the bed, eyebrows furrowing when he was met with a hard surface.

  
He curiously felt under him, freezing once he realized what it was.

  
He picked the knife up quickly, staring at it anxiously before turning to Keith, who had stopped looking through drawers and was holding a couple papers, looking at Lance.

  
"What are you doing?"

  
Lance's hand shot to his chest. "What am  ** _I_**  doing?? Dude! You have a freaking  ** _knife_**  in your bed !"

  
Keith rolled his eyes, taking the knife from Lance's hand and nonchalantly putting it into his pocket.

  
"Anyways," He sat next to Lance, the tall boy tensing. But Keith continued on anyhow, handing him the papers from yesterday. "you remember this, right?"

  
Lance hesitated before nodding, deciding he could probably outrun Keith if he pulled anything on him. Longer legs, and all; plus he was super good at track when he was younger.

  
"There's a lot more like it."

  
Lance blanked, face paling.

  
Keith stood from his seat, going over to a large cork-board and pointing. "The most recent case is this."

  
Lance followed Keith over to look, eyes widening once he read the date. It was only a year ago at the most.

  
"As you can see, it happens every year." Keith looked over the rest of the board, smoothing over some parts of it with his hands. "But what I showed you before was the first time it happened, and the only time they really looked into it." He hung the newspaper article in the center of the board, connecting the rest of them to it.

  
Lance was visibly sweating, eyes darting around the gathered information. "Dude,,,,where'd you even get this stuff to begin with?"

  
"It's,,a long story."

  
It was a shitty answer; but Lance took it, having faith. He looked over the board one more time before turning back to Keith, eyes on the ground before they reached his face.

  
"....And you really believe it was aliens?"

  
Keith nodded, making Lance sigh.

  
All this had done was give him more questions; not answer any he already had. He shook his head.

  
"Dude, this is crazy,,"

  
"I know."

  
Lance frowned at the reply. "What are you even going to do with all this?"

  
The male's gaze faltered for a moment, his violet eyes leaving Lance and traveling back up to the board.

  
"I'm,,going to figure out what's going on; and put a stop to it."

  
Lance raised a brow, scoffing. "Dude, you realize how cheesy you sound?,,There's no way you can do that on your own."

  
Keith stared over at Lance. "I know."

  
Lance blinked before his eyes widened, the boy holding his hands up defensively as the sudden realization dawned on him. "Hey-! I'm not helping you with this!"

  
"You came to me, Lance." Keith seemed angered by the statement, if not a little confused. "Don't you want to know what's going on?"

  
"Of course I do!" He replied, hands still up. "I just don't want to get killed in the process is all!"

  
"I don't think they're killing them."

  
"Getting killed, disappear- whatever, I'm out." Lance stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You're on your own, dude."

  
Keith glared, hands balling into fists. "You can't just forget all this. There's people missing."

  
Lance looked away from the stare, moving his gaze to the floor.

  
"Those people may be lost forever, and their families will never know what happened."

  
Lance cringed, chest feeling heavy at the words.  
  
  
They were true, he knew. Even if it wasn't aliens; there were people who'd never return home if this continued.

  
He took in a deep breath, looking over at the newspaper articles before hesitantly looking back over at Keith.

  
"....Fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lance never ate his omelet  
> like if u cry every time
> 
>  
> 
> btw on an unrelated note if anyone cares my other fic island in the sun is probably gonna be on a hiatus for a while till i finish this ?? bc i wrote like a whole chapter for that that i dont rly like so im kinda discouraged atm and wanna focus on this instead since this is a lot easier for me to write rip
> 
> but anyways heres my tumblr if u like to talk; http://sebsterianart.tumblr.com/
> 
> catch u on the flippity flop cool cats


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long i rewrote it literally 5 times ??

Lance stared down at his phone, elbows on his knees as he sat on Keith's bed and looked over his last text message with Hunk, debating on whether or not to tell him what he was doing.  
  
  
On one note, he wanted Hunk to know where he was in case anything happened.  
  
  
But on another; he didn't want to ruin Hunk's day and make him anxious.

  
He sighed, shutting his phone off and putting it into his pocket, turning to Keith.

  
"Okay so like, what's the plan here? You're not thinking about just rushing into this head first, are you?"

  
Keith stuffed a camera into his backpack. "It depends on what you think 'rushing into this' means."

  
Lance tapped his foot anxiously, standing up with a sigh to take one of the backpacks Keith had prepared. He didn't really pay all that much attention to what was inside; but, he figured Keith would know more than him about this stuff.

  
"Alright, so, we're going to go to the woods where the cabin is and stake out for awhile in your car-"

  
Lance's eyebrows raised at the plan, the boy waving his arms. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up- why do you have to drag Blue into this?!"

  
Keith flicked a flashlight on and off, hitting it against his hand a couple times before deeming it in working condition. "Because all I have is a motorcycle?"

  
The boy huffed, crossing his arms. "No, we are not taking Blue out there. She's very happy right here, thank you very much."

  
Keith rolled his eyes, zipping up the black bag. "Listen; I don't want to sit in your beat up car all day. But, it's better than nothing."

  
"Excuse you !"

  
The male grit his teeth, tossing his backpack onto his shoulder. "Look, we don't have all day-"

  
"We literally have all day !"

  
"-are you coming or not?!" Keith stared Lance down, making him go quiet.

  
He fidgeted in place before sighing, mumbling a "Fine." and gathering up what Keith had given him, posture slightly slumped as he walked out to prepare Blue.

  
Keith followed behind, ignoring Lance's droopiness and getting into the passenger seat.

  
Lance settled down, shutting the door behind him and fastening his seatbelt.

  
"Alright, so," He gently placed his backpack into the back seat before turning to Keith. "there's three rules for riding inside good ol' Blue here."

  
Keith made a face.

  
"1," He held up one finger before gesturing to himself. "only  _ **I'm**_  allowed to drive her. You'll just have to get over it."

  
"2," He held up a second, and Keith realized he was being serious. "don't be disrespectful to her. She's had a lifetime. And even though she's still gorgeous, she's fragile."

  
"3," Keith rolled his eyes, waiting for Lance to continue. "don't touch the radio."

  
Lance stared at him intently. "Got that?"

  
The other nodded before looking out the window, holding his bag in his lap.

  
"Alright, let's roll!"

  
A loud puttering sound from the engine broke the mood, Lance turning pale as he let go of the ignition.

  
"Damn it, girl,,"

  
Keith looked over curiously. "Uh, what's going on?"

  
"It's fine!" Lance's voice cracked as he turned the ignition once more.

  
"It doesn't sound fine."

  
"Shut up!" He opened his door, peeking around to see white smoke forming before shutting it quickly, staring at the floor in anxious silence.

  
He could practically hear Hunk's voice, disapproving as ever as he said with a sigh.  _ **"I told you so."**_

  
Lance chewed on his lip, taking a moment to gather himself before trying again, mumbling a prayer under his breath as he put all his might- well, not  ** _all_** his might; Blue was a gentle lady and needed to be treated as such- but  ** _most_**  of his might, into turning the ignition one more time.

  
He sighed and sank bonelessly in his seat as the engine finally roared to life, the smoke beginning to clear.

  
Keith raised his eyebrows in surprise, looking around the car through the windows.

  
"Told you." Lance put on a cocky grin as he pulled out of the driveway, starting down the street.

  
Keith ignored the comment, pulling out the newspaper clipping from his pocket.

  
"Take a left up here, then go straight till you reach the crossway."

  
Lance nodded, following the directions with a hum. "How long is this going to take, anyways?"

  
"I dunno, thirty minutes?" It wasn't like Keith could mapquest 'quickest route to abandoned cabin covered in alien symbols', so he just had to estimate.

  
"Perfect time for some tunes then." Lance took a hand off the wheel to mess with his radio, tuning into the only channel that wasn't on commercial break.

  
Keith didn't recognize the song that started to play, but Lance seemed to, the boy humming along to it.

  
He interrupted to give Lance more directions, going off his memory of driving past the area and the image in his palm.

  
Surprisingly; Lance was a pretty good driver, even if his car sucked.

  
They sat in silence for a while, the only noise coming from the radio and Lance's occasional singing. The previous tension from before had seemed to melt off him; though, Keith couldn't say the same for himself.

  
"So,," Lance suddenly spoke, turning the radio down a couple notches in order to talk. "why'd you come here?"

  
Keith hesitated at the question, staring at Lance's reflection in his window before looking off to the trees instead.

  
"It's a long story."

  
Lance scoffed, keeping his eyes on the road. "Come on, dude, that's what you said last time."

  
Keith shifted in his seat, changing the subject and turning his head to the boy. "Why did  ** _you_**  come here?"

  
He hummed lightly at the question, turning the car. "Nope, I asked you first."

  
Keith sighed, casting his gaze off once more. ",,,,Someone I know is one of the people missing, and this is where they were last seen."

  
Lance immediately regretted his pushing, expression turning sympathetic. "Aw man, buddy,,,,I'm so sorry.."

  
Keith went silent after that, watching as Lance pulled up to their destination in silence.

  
He awkwardly pulled his phone from his pocket to distract from the fact they'd have to talk eventually, scrolling through apps aimlessly.

  
Lance sighed, taking a few moments before speaking. "So,, what now?"

  
Keith shrugged slightly. "We just look out for things."

  
"What kinda things?"

  
"You know like, odd lights, figures, u-"

  
"I swear to god if you actually say UFOs-"

  
Keith glared some. "Why'd you even come if you're going to not believe anything?"

  
Lance gestured. "Look; I believe that people are missing. But, I'm still not going to believe it's aliens unless I see one with my own two eyes."

  
"Well, you're in luck; because that's why we're here."

  
Lance huffed, crossing his arms and turning his head away. Keith smirked some, but kept it small and to himself, ditching Lance for his phone screen once more.

  
Only a couple minutes of silence went by till Lance started making noise again, Keith groaning.

  
"Do you ever shut up?"

  
Lance raised a brow, a defensive look coming up onto his face. "I was just humming."

  
Keith opened the car door, taking the bag with him. "I'm going to set up the cameras."

  
Lance's previous expression faded. "Shouldn't I, uh, come with you?"

  
The male snorted, turning his back onto Lance to walk up to the woods. "Whatever makes you feel better, I guess."

  
"Hey!" Lance glared, opening his door and quickly following him. "I'll have you know that I was just looking out for you, like people should!" He shifted, taking a camera from Keith's bag and helping set up. "It's not that I'm ** _scared_**  or anything."

  
"Okay." Keith dug the tripod into the soft dirt, focusing the lens on the camera and zooming in as much as he could. The image was slightly blurry after, but it worked.

  
Lance finished with the camcorder and looked over at Keith, deadpanning. "Hey, man, you might wanna make it to where you can actually see. Just a suggestion."

  
"This is the best I can do, I don't want to go into there yet."

  
Lance blinked before a devilish grin curled his lips. "Who's the scared one now, huh?"

  
He rolled his eyes, messing with the image quality a bit more. "I'm not scared, I just don't want to rush into things unprepared."

  
Lance shrugged, still grinning. "Hey, whatever makes you feel better." He turned away to head back towards the car, but not before sparing one last look towards Keith, who furrowed his brows at the echo.

  
Not much happened after that, though. The day went on lazy and hot, Keith tying his hair up halfway through while complaining about Blue's air conditioning.

  
"Hey! Blue's air conditioning works just fine; you're just being picky."

  
"Tell that to my sweat, Lance."

  
Thankfully, the night was cooler, which Keith very much appreciated. Being in a car with Lance the whole day had been pretty miserable up until that point, and disappointing. They hadn't seen a single oddity thus far, and Lance was starting to get antsy at it.

  
"C'mon, Keith. It's been like 10 hours. Let's just call it quits and head back."

  
"Not yet." Keith stared outside of his window and into the woods, eyes shifting down to their devices every once in a while to make sure they were still recording.

  
Lance's leg shook as he looked outside of his own window, eyes half-lidded as he scanned over the area.

  
Everything went silent once more, besides the crickets and the occasional bird in the background creating noise.

  
Keith shifted some in his seat before opening the door suddenly, exiting the car. "I have to pee."

  
"Tmi, man." Lance scoffed, waving him off as the male disappeared off into the distance. Truth be told, he wasn't really crazy about being left in the middle of nowhere alone as Keith went off to pee. But, he sure as hell wasn't going to follow him.

  
He looked out the window, the woods seeming a lot more creepy when you're the only one looking at them.

  
Lance chewed on his lip anxiously, pulling out his phone to distract him. He had a text message from Hunk.

 _ **  
Hunk:**_ _So Shay's favorite movie so far is the little mermaid._

  
He grinned, going to reply.

_  
she has good taste_

**_  
Hunk:_ ** _Remember that time when you refused to watch anything but that? Your sister had to hide the dvd from you._

  
Lance laughed quietly, thumbs moving quickly before his phone suddenly went blank.

  
"Shit-"

  
He'd been out here so long, he forgot to charge it.

  
He quickly reached for his charger and plugged it in, cringing at the battery symbol that appeared after. It'd be a while till he could use it again.

  
It didn't take long for the following dread set in.

  
He was alone.

  
In the middle of nowhere- no, scratch that; in the middle of the woods where people have been **_disappearing/getting murdered._**

  
And now his phone was dead.

  
Lance shrunk in his seat, looking around him before deciding to go after Keith. At this point it didn't matter if he saw a dick; he wanted out of there, and fast.

  
He grabbed a flashlight and opened the door, stuffing his keys into his pocket and locking the car after him.

  
"Keith? Hey, buddy?"

  
Silence.

  
Lance attempted to swallow the lump in his throat as he turned on his flashlight, trekking up to where he'd seen Keith go.

  
"Keeiitthh,,I know you're here, so-"

  
A hand on his mouth silenced him, the boy freezing.

  
"Shh,,look,"

  
He glanced over at Keith, who pulled him behind a tree, before following his gaze towards the cabin.  
****__  
  
There was a light on inside.

  
Lance's eyes widened as he ripped Keith's hand off his mouth.

  
"Dude, what the hell? Let's get out of here."

  
Keith glared and put a finger to his lips, pulling out his phone and zooming in on the cabin.

  
There was a faint purple glow to the light inside that made Lance feel off, a chill running up his spine.

  
"Keith,,,,"

  
Keith ignored him, getting up from behind the tree to get a closer look.

  
Lance cringed, having no other choice but to follow him.

  
The whole situation gave him a bad vibe, and most of the time when he had a bad vibe; he had it for a reason.

  
Like one time when he was younger, he was making cereal, but the milk gave him a bad vibe, so he made something else. But, his older sibling said he was 'being ridiculous' and used it anyways.

  
They had food poisoning for days afterwards.

  
He shook Keith's shoulder gently. "I'm being serious, Keith. We need to get out of here."

  
"If you want to go, fine."

  
Lance groaned lightly, but quickly went silent as a door creaked open.

  
They both jumped, two cloaked figures emerging from the cabin and shutting the door behind them.

  
Keith stood up from his crouched position slowly, his phone long forgotten as he stared.

  
He moved his hand to his pocket, whispering a quiet "I knew it."

  
Both figures suddenly turned to where Keith and Lance were standing, Lance catching a good look at the beak-like masks shielding their faces.  
  
  
"Who's there?"

  
"Shit shit shit- Keith, come on!" Lance tugged Keith away before he could protest, making the male drop his phone as they both ran back to Blue.

  
Lance quickly unlocked the doors and slid in, Keith following as he turned the ignition.

  
A sputtering noise made Lance's stomach churn, Keith staring in horror at him.

  
"Oh no no no no- not right now, please Blue c'mon---"

  
He silently pleaded as he tried again, and again, and again.

  
Footsteps hastily approached them, Keith gritting his teeth and taking his knife from his pocket. "Hurry up, Lance!"

  
"I'm trying!" He cried, turning his keys one more time before Blue finally roared to life.

  
He didn't waste anytime after that, immediately flooring it and driving away.

  
Keith felt around in his pockets, paling as he found nothing.

  
"My phone-"

  
"Don't even **_think_** about it, we are **_not_** going back. You could've gotten us killed out there!" Lance kept his voice strict, eyebrows furrowed as he thought back onto the moment.

  
Keith grit his teeth, looking away guiltily.

  
Lance didn't say anything more as he turned the corner, trying to remember the route to Keith's house.

  
Keith interrupted the silence once he recognized where Lance was heading.

  
",,,,My address was on my phone; they could know where I live now."

  
"Seriously?"

  
He glared. "I'm not the one who jerked it out of my hand."

  
Lance rolled his eyes, thinking it over. Lance kinda saved his life with that but, he knew when to quit. Besides; those dudes they saw really were creepy, and it was obvious they weren't any good.

  
"You can,,stay with me, I guess. I'll just have to talk it over with Hunk."

  
Keith raised a brow in surprise, but thanked him.

  
"So do we like, need to get your clothes and stuff?"

  
He shook his head, not wanting any hold ups in their escape. "I don't need anything."

  
Lance was obviously not amused. "C'mon, man; I said I'd share my house, not my underwear."

  
Keith cringed at the thought, giving in. "Fine."

  
They pulled up to his house quietly, Keith dumping a bag of equipment to use as a bag for his clothes, much to Lance's discontent.

  
"You're getting crumbs all over the seats!"

  
"I just bought this."

  
"Well there's crumbs in it!"

  
He glared, but cleaned his mess before disappearing into his house, quickly gathering up his clothes and a couple more items before heading back to Lance.

  
"Got everything?"

  
He nodded, settling back into his seat.

  
"Alright, let's ditch this place."

  
Lance's home was smaller than Keith would've imagined, considering Lance had a roommate. But, he didn't have any room for complaints.

  
He peaked inside as Lance opened the door, hanging the keys up on a hook afterwards.

  
"Hunk's not here right now." Lance stretched as he entered into the living room, sitting on the couch after and turning on the tv. "The guest room's down the hall."

  
"Thanks." Keith stared at the tv before heading down to his new room, looking around curiously. It was pretty plain, the only bed being a twin-size. But, again; he couldn't complain.

  
He set his bags onto the carpeted floor, opting for not putting his things away. He wasn't going to stay long, so there wasn't any need.

  
The bed creaked as he sat onto it, the mattress weak.

  
Keith hadn't lived with anyone in years, opting to stay alone. And now he was living with two people; one of which was Lance, who's tv he could hear from behind the closed door.

 ** __  
It was only going to be for a couple of days** , he reminded himself as he laid down.

**_  
Just a couple of days._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh the more i get into this plot the more i dont like it but its Happenin Anyways cause this is all i can think abt ay
> 
> here's my tumblr; http://sebsterianart.tumblr.com/
> 
> be sure to hmu w/ some Validation if u liked this bc i am Easily Discouraged
> 
> and i'll try to fix the double end notes thing soon too yo
> 
> pce
> 
> edit; fixed it


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long ?? i rewrote this like over 8 times bc i kept changing my mind abt where i wanted it to go r ip

Keith woke up with a start, sitting straight up on the bed as his eyes adjusted to the bright light shining through the foreign window.

  
_**Right.** _

  
He sighed, relaxing.

_**  
This wasn't his house.** _

  
Keith looped his legs over the bed, running a hand through his hair, and cringing when it came back greasy. The aftermath of sitting in a hot car with no air-conditioning for a day wasn't pleasant, he realized, as he looked around the room and gathered up some clothes for a shower.

  
The boy sleepily shuffled his way through the bedroom to the hallway, looking for the bathroom, but ending up stopping in his tracks when his nose was met with a scent wafting from the kitchen.

  
He peeked his head into the room curiously, getting greeted with a wave from who he assumed was Lance's roommate.

  
"Morning! Hope you don't mind, but Lance told me you were staying over last night, so I made you some breakfast." The man rubbed the back of his neck, stepping away to showcase the simple breakfast of eggs and some bacon.

  
Keith blinked, caught off guard by the gesture. "Oh, uhm,," He suddenly felt put on the spot, opting to stay in the shadows so the guy's first impression wasn't that Keith was a greasy couch surfer.

  
",,thanks."

  
He perked up. "No problem! Lance hardly ever brings company over."

  
Keith's face stretched into a smirk at the new information. "Oh, really?"

  
"Well, other than his family of course." The man, who Keith suddenly remembered was called Hunk, added as he stirred the eggs.

  
Keith took the confession with stride, noting it in the back of his head before shifting in place, looking down at his clothes awkwardly with a pause.  
  
  
",,Can I use your shower?"  
  
  
He wasn't sure why he asked, but, Hunk didn't seem to think anything of it; replying with a "Yeah, of course! Just a sec."  
  
  
He stopped stirring the meal and brought out plates, filling the portions equally and setting them onto the table before turning to Keith and leading him to the bathroom.

He explained the rest of the layout to the house as he went, which Keith thanked him for as he slipped inside the room and shut the door, looking around.

  
It was  _ **bad;**_ the decorating like some sort of mixture between a tween DIY magazine and a dollar-store luau.  
  
  
He bit his lips together to keep from laughing, starting to undress.  
  
  
The icing on the cake, what  ** _really_**  brought the room together, he thought, was the pineapple-shaped hand soap dispenser on the side of the sink, just right next to a picture of Lance and Hunk posing next to the ocean.

  
Keith stopped his motions and looked over the photo, awkwardly deciding to turn it away before peeling off the last of his clothes and getting into the shower.  
  
  
He sighed in relief at the feeling of his leftover sweat from yesterday getting washed down the drain, but it only took a second for him to come back to reality.  
  
  
Even though the shower was nice, and the bathroom was ridiculous; he needed to focus. They were in a serious situation, and he couldn't afford to waste any time.  
  
  
He finished as quickly as possible, walking out into the kitchen after and looking at Lance as he turned to Keith from the table, swallowing down a bite and waving at him with his fork.  
  
  
"Morning."

  
Keith nodded in reply, looking over the placement before taking a seat next to him, grabbing his own fork and tuning out the rest of what Lance said as he started speaking to Hunk instead. Though, he quickly snapped out of his daze when Hunk addressed them both in the conversation, voice hesitant.

  
"By the way, you guys need to be careful today,,like, three people disappeared last night and it's really bad.."

  
Keith shot a quick glance towards Lance at the news, which made Hunk rub the back of his neck as he caught onto the look.  
  
  
",,,,don't worry, Lance already told me about the 'aliens' or whatever." He paused before continuing with a sigh. "I,,don't like that you guys are doing this stuff, but,,"

  
Lance suddenly perked up to interrupt. "You should come with us. Power in numbers, right?" He looked towards Keith, who grimaced at the phrasing, but contemplated.

  
Even though he wasn't crazy about it; Lance was right, in a way. It'd really help out if they could have someone stand in to have their backs if things went awry again. So, he gave a nod in agreement, them looking back over to Hunk after, who looked pretty pale, fidgeting with his hands.

 

"I,, dunno,,,"

  
Lance shook his head, leaning over the table. "C'mon, buddy!" He looped an arm around his roommate as he spoke, a teasing tone suddenly playing into his voice. "We could really use a  ** _hunk_**  like you."

  
Hunk opened his mouth to decline once more, but ended up stopping halfway through, a flush creeping onto his face as he snorted and covered it once he realized the pun.

  
"Okay! Okay," He shoved Lance off gently, shaking his head as he gathered himself. "fine. But, if anything creepy shows up; I'm booting."

  
Lance pumped his fist and cheered at the answer, sinking back into his chair with a satisfied grin.  
  
  
They all finished their breakfast quickly after that, Keith shoving his arms into the sleeves of his jacket as he made his way over to the house phone, dialing up a number.  
  
  
" ** _Hello_**?" A voice rang from the other side, confused at the random number calling them.

  
"I found them, Pidge. I'm gonna need your help."

  
There was a pregnant pause on the line before Pidge spoke again.

  
"I'll be right there."  
 

Keith gave her directions to meet up at the diner, telling her to bring Shiro with her before hanging up.

  
He quickly picked his bag off the floor and looped it over his shoulder, meeting the others at the car. Though, he stopped in his tracks as he was met with Hunk in the passenger seat, the male giving a sheepish expression.  
  


"Sorry. Motion sickness."  
  
  
Lance gestured towards the backseat after Hunk was done explaining, where Keith evidently ended up sitting, sliding his bag into the seat next to him.

  
"Stop at the diner first, there's some people there that will help us."

  
Lance raised an eyebrow at the directions as he pulled out of the driveway, starting on the route. "You have friends?"

  
Keith rolled his eyes and ignored the comment, focusing on communicating his plan. "We're probably going to need to stop for some more supplies, too."

  
"What kind of supplies?" Hunk asked curiously, looking into the backseat before quickly turning back to the front window in regret of the sudden vertigo it'd brought on.

  
Keith paused for a moment at the question, his gaze wandering as he spoke. "Weapons, mostly?,,Knives, guns; that sort of thing."  
  
  
He looked back up towards Hunk as a sudden silence fell upon them, the male rubbing his arms and swallowing thickly before replying.  
  
  
" ** _Oh_**."

  
Lance hesitated before breaking the tension, gesturing towards Hunk with his head. "Hey, you know, Allura might still have some stuff from her Dad."

  
Hunk cast his gaze over to Lance before nodding, seeming to relax some. "Yeah,,I'm pretty sure she wouldn't get rid of it. We can ask her."

  
They pulled up to the diner soon after, Keith hiking the strap of his bag higher onto his shoulder as he stepped inside, looking around aimlessly before spotting a pale arm stretched in a wave.

  
He quickly went over and took a seat next to the ginger, who had turned away from her laptop momentarily to look up at him.

  
"I explained everything to Shiro, but, he's still letting it sink in."

  
"You told me that ** _aliens_**  exist and they've been kidnapping people for over 60 years." Shiro replied abruptly, before catching himself and sighing, holding his hands up. "Sorry, I'm fine. Go on."

  
Pidge pushed her glasses higher onto her nose, going to open her mouth again before looking up at Lance and Hunk, gesturing towards them with her hand. "Wait, who are these?"

  
Keith ignored Lance's melodramatic hurt expression as he replied.

   
"They know."

  
She seemed to lower her defenses at that, her and Shiro scooting over in the booth to give more room for the two to sit down.

  
After taking his seat next to Keith, Lance extended his hand for her to shake, deciding to introduce himself.  
  
  
"McClain; Lance McClain."

  
"That's a shitty James Bond impression." Pidge commented with a slight smirk as she reached over Keith to shake his hand, turning to the other stranger expectantly after, who blinked before following Lance's lead.

  
"I'm Hunk."

  
"Pidge."

  
They shook hands before she went back to typing on her computer, pulling up some files and turning the device towards Keith.  
  
  
"Okay, so, I've been searching for more stuff on this ever since,,," She trailed off before dropping the end of the sentence and continuing. "But all that I've officially found was the stuff you already have. After that, it goes blank." She paused for a moment before pulling up another tab.  
  
"But,,if you count random local information, I found this blog that's for 'mysteries', and there's a whole page dedicated to 'The Mysterious Vanishings of 1956'. So, I guess some people noticed; even if the authorities didn't."

  
Keith skimmed over the page curiously. From the looks of it, it didn't bring any new information. But, he still put it into the back of his mind, just in case.

  
The table sat in silence for a moment till Allura suddenly spotted them and made her way over from the counter, smiling as she clasped her hands together.

  
"I'm glad to see you're both okay. I tried to call earlier, but,,," She trailed off and furrowed her eyebrows at the laptop which everyone was crowded around, subtly trying to peer over to catch a glimpse of what the big deal was about.

  
Keith and Pidge exchanged an awkward glance at the stranger before looking to Lance for answers, but he didn't give any; instead nodding at the woman.

  
She had seemed to give up on trying to grab a look from the device on the table top, sighing as she regained her train of thought and continued. "One of the people who disappeared was a neighbor, so Coran's been supervising me all day." She glanced over her shoulder towards the mustached man, who stood watching in the distance. "I don't mind it,, but, I'd love a break for a while." She gave a playful wink as she leaned against the table, changing the mood. "What are you all up to, anyways?"

  
"Uh,," Hunk looked towards Lance, who looked towards Keith; who looked towards Pidge.

  
",,Were you close to the person who went missing?" Pidge asked curiously, dodging the question and making Allura's smile dissipate as her gaze fell to the floor.

  
"Yes,,she was a friend of my father's back in the day, till,,," She trailed off, Hunk sympathetically putting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
  
Shiro's brows furrowed at the vague answer as he looked towards her, hesitating before speaking. "You don't have to answer if I'm crossing a line, but,,what happened to your father?"  
  
  
Allura shook her head, taking a moment before sighing. "I was just a teen when it happened; but, it was the same thing, actually. He just,,disappeared one day,,,," She took a moment to compose herself, voice strained. "Everyone thought he might've died, but, they never found a body.."

  
Shiro looked back to Keith as the table reached a silent agreement.

  
",,We think we know where they are."

  
Allura's face scrunched as she suddenly lifted her head from the ground to meet them.  
  
  
",, ** _What_**?"

  
"He said, we think we know where they are." Shiro echoed Keith, staring her in the eye.

  
Allura went silent at the information, turning to Lance, who gave a confirmatory nod.  
  
  
She pursed her lips, contemplating before turning towards Keith. "Where?"

  
He laid everything out on the table, explaining the news articles, what he'd seen, how him and Lance nearly got abducted. She was a bit suspicious, but, Hunk and Lance confirmed Keith's words, which soothed her mind a bit as she took it all in.

  
She stayed quiet before coming upon a decision, standing up straight from her spot on the table.  
  
  
"I want to help."

  
Remembering the conversation in the car from earlier, Lance hesitantly spoke up at the offer. "Do,,you still have your Dad's stuff?"

  
Allura nodded. "If it'll aid you, you can use it."

  
"We could use some more people on the lookout, too, if you're coming." Keith mentioned. "Me, Lance, and Pidge are going to be busy with the inside-"  
  
  
Lance shot him a quick look at the sudden plan, which Keith ignored, opting to continue speaking.  
  
  
"- so the rest of us should stay on the outside to watch for anything, and one should stay in the car in case anything happens."

  
Shiro's shoulders drooped as his expression suddenly became filled with concern, the man speaking up. "How long have you been thinking about all this, Keith?"

  
",,A while," He kept his voice low as he replied, suddenly feeling guilty for not saying anything to him before now. "I didn't want to drag anybody into this until I was sure, though."

  
"Not true!" Lance interjected into the conversation, slamming his hands onto the table. "You dragged me into this  ** _way_**  before you knew anything!"

  
" ** _You_** dragged yourself-" Keith's retaliation was interrupted by Shiro holding up a hand.

  
"Alright, alright. That's enough." He looked towards Allura, keeping his voice firm as he spoke. "Go get your father's stuff and bring it to the cabin. We'll meet you there."

  
She nodded at the plan before going off to Coran, her conversation with him muffled in the distance.

  
Lance crossed his arms, looking towards Shiro with a raised brow. "Since when are  ** _you_**  directing this?"

  
"I'm not, Keith is." He paused for a moment before sinking slightly. "I guess I got carried away, though. I'm sorry."

  
"You're fine, Shiro." Keith reassured before turning his attention towards Hunk, getting back onto track.  
  
  
"Do you know how to fight?"

  
"Uh, not really?" Hunk fidgeted with his hands anxiously as he answered, obviously uncomfortable with the given question.

  
"You'll stay in the car for us then." 

  
Hunk nodded, and Keith stood from his seat, looking down at everyone.

  
"Alright," He licked his lips, taking in a breath to steady himself before continuing.  
  
  
"let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Gang's All Here(tm)
> 
> tbh this was. shorter than i wouldve liked but i get nervous im being boring so ?? i cut out a lot of details rip but the next chapter's gonna be Packed so it'll probably be a lot longer and hopefully not boring aye
> 
> Anyways Here's Wonderwall; http://sebsterianart.tumblr.com/ im on like 24/7 since i have No Life so feel free to hmu anytime
> 
> and be sure to give me some Validation/feedback if u can bc im Thirsty(tm)
> 
> keep on rockin m'guys


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